Affordable Care Act question and answer

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Enrollment opens, meaning people can begin signing up for insurance, which will take effect Jan. 1. In Houston area, 46 plans will be available. San Antonians have 58 plans to choose from. Premium payments will begin in 2014.

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s website, kff.org, also includes information about the health law, how it could affect residents throughout the country and a calculator for marketplace customers to determine their estimated insurance costs. BeCoveredTexas.org, launched by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, also includes information about the health law. Texans also can call 866-427-7492 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Marketplace insurance plans must contain 10 essential health benefits, including emergency services, maternity and newborn care, mental health, substance abuse use services, hospitalization and prescriptions. Just as with current policies, these will be subject to co-pays.

The individual penalty will be 1 percent of a person’s income or $95 – whichever is higher. The penalty will grow to 2.5 percent of income or $695 per adult by 2016. The penalty for a child will be half that of an adult. The penalty will be due at the time of the 2014 federal income tax filing.

Yes. No one can be rejected from the marketplace because of a pre-existing condition.

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Yes. No one can be rejected from the marketplace because of a pre-existing condition.

Answer: Yes. No one can be rejected from the marketplace... Photo-5245816.70997 - Houston Chronicle

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Maybe. Any job-based health plan you have qualifies as minimum essential coverage which covers the 10 basic services. However, seeking coverage in the marketplace will not necessarily be less expensive and depends on individual circumstances.

Maybe. Any job-based health plan you have qualifies as minimum essential coverage which covers the 10 basic services. However, seeking coverage in the marketplace will not necessarily be less expensive

When the law was approved by Congress, it was believed that most states would expand Medicaid coverage for the poor. However, many state’s like Texas opted out of the expansion, refusing billions of federal dollars and leaving many poor ineligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Bob Moos, spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said information about plans, coverage and rates offered in Texas won’t be released until the marketplaces open Oct. 1. He would not explain why.

Under the law, various tiers of coverage will be available. Plans will range from a minimal level known as a bronze plan, to the most expensive plans, which are gold and platinum. The more you pay in premiums, the lower the co-pays and deductibles. Provider networks might be larger and offer more services for the expensive plans.

Answer: Under the law, various tiers of coverage will be... Photo-5245936.70997 - Houston Chronicle

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According to a rate calculator created by the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent nonprofit health care policy organization, the following are general cost guides:

1. A 35-year-old single, non-smoking parent with one child earning $40,000 would pay $5,605 a year for an un-subsidized, mid-level silver plan. With a $2,293 subsidy, the premium would drop to $3,312. The more basic bronze plan premium would be $2,352 with the subsidy.

2. Two non-smoking parents, ages 36 and 35, with one child, earning $30,000, 205 percent of the federal poverty level, would pay $9,317 for an un-subsidized, silver plan. With a $8,067 subsidy, the premium would drop to $1,250. A bronze plan, with the minimum amount of coverage available, would cost nothing with subsidies.